Title: Final Strike
Author: Spirixx
Pairing: Ichigo/Renji
Spoilers: Well it takes place during the war.
Warnings: Lots of violence.
Disclaimer: As much as I wish I do not own Bleach...
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Final Strike
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"Ichigo?"
"Ya Rukia?"
"You ever wonder why there are stars?"
"My mother told me once..."
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Ichigo lay bloodied on the ground. He had lost the use of his arms but that didn't matter. Where was Renji? He tried to roll over but his body wouldn't move. He felt so cold, so cold.
The hollow around him circled and closed their ranks as if trying to decide who got the final strike. Ichigo wasn't scared though. Everyone had an end he only wished he knew where Renji was. Was he lying somewhere close in the same predicament? Ichigo reached out with his soul, wanting nothing but to feel that familiar tingle when their souls combined.
All he felt was the cold creeping into his bones. He couldn't die, not yet. His vision left him, seeing nothing but the blackness encompassing his soul. It felt like hours, maybe even days were passing him by but still there was no feedback, nothing hinting about his lover's whereabouts.
His sense shutting down he was unaware that there was no additional pain to the injuries he received from his desperate attempt to reunite with his partner after the hollows drove them apart. Those red spikes had disappeared into a sea of black and white before he even had a chance to swing Zangetsu to prevent it. Now he lay still, wondering why he was still alive.
"I just want to feel…"
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Renji saw Ichigo hit the ground as if in slow motion. The world around him became silent except the jingle of Zangetsu's chain.
No…
Ichigo fell slower but Renji knew it was only in his mind. The man fell to the ground, soft eddies of dust and sand billowed out from under him. Renji fought his way through hollow after hollow only to see Ichigo looked around and see right through him. Renji knew what the orange haired boy was looking for but didn't want to think about why he couldn't find it.
:Hurry!:
Renji didn't need to be told twice. He unlocked the links holding Zabimaru's bankai form and shot the bone pieces in every direction imaginable. He didn't stop to see which hollows remain standing and which fell. He pushed his way through to his fallen comrade. Rushing to his side Renji picked him up haphazardly trying not to drop his weapon in the process.
"What should I do?! There's no way out!"
:Do you trust me?:
Renji stopped to think about this for a moment. Why on earth was he being asked.
"Zabimaru, of course I do, above all others."
:Then I will teach you something, but you can only use this once. Ready?:
"Yes"
Renji stood tall with the broken Ichigo in his arms. The wind whipped his hair about him, it had long since become free of its hair tie. The remaining hollows gathered.
:Say it now!:
"SHIKYO NAKIGOE!!"
The trembled then emitted a deafening cry. The hollows shrieked and either fell or ran. Even the ones that ran died before they got too far. Then it was quiet.
"Ichigo? Can you hear me?"
"Renji? Where are you?"
Renji hugged him tighter. Ichigo stayed limp and looked straight ahead with unseeing eyes.
"I'm right here, Ichi, right here."
"I can't feel... can't see… can't"
"Sssh-hush, it's ok."
Renji sat down, holding Ichigo close to his chest. Trying to stay clam but all he wanted to do was cry and scream and, and…
"Renji, where is here?"
"Here is with me, you got that? Stay here."
"I see stars. When I was young, my mother-"
He was cut off by small whimper like coughs. A small trickle of blood ran down his chin. Renji tried to hold back him trembling but couldn't. Ichigo didn't seem to notice how much the red head shook.
"My mother told me that… we all shared the stars… … … I once thought that if I looked hard enough at one and thought of someone, anyone-" another coughing fit, "anywhere, that they would look up at that same star and think of me."
Ichigo's breath grew shallow and racked with more soft coughs. Renji pulled him closer, letting the orange hair engulf his senses. He refused to cry, not yet, not while there was still hope.
"Do you see that star Renji? The really bright one… ? I'll be thinking of you."
And he was gone.
Renji shook the limp body but he got no response. This was not happening.
"Ichi… ICHIGO!!!"
He howled and threw his head back. It had grown dark without him even knowing it. The sky was empty, completely black, except… except for one small but bright star.
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"There are there to bind us.
No matter where you are, there is only one sky we all share.
The stars are there to keep us together."
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END
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